John McGuinness
Question:314. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education the status of a building project for a school (details supplied); and if approval will be issued as soon as possible. [17941/24]
View answerTuesday, 23 April 2024
Questions (314)
Written answers
The school to which the Deputy refers was approved to enter the Department’s school accommodation pipeline of projects to provide a Mainstream Classroom under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme. The project is devolved to the school authority for delivery.
My Department has approved the project to go to the tender. The tender report was received by my Department and is now under review by my Department in line with the requirements of the public Infrastructure Guidelines. Once this review has taken place, the school authority will be advised accordingly.
It is planned that close to 90 school building projects currently at tender stage will be authorised to proceed to construction over the course of 2024 and early 2025. These projects will provide new and modernised facilities to help schools cater for growing populations in their areas and include 138 classrooms for children with special education needs, which is a key priority for Government.
In total, around €800 million will be invested in these projects under the department’s Large Scale Capital Programme and Additional Accommodation Scheme for essential classroom accommodation.
This is a record level of investment in school buildings. It will expand the number of school places, significantly increase provision for special education and upgrade and modernise our school infrastructure. The impact of this will be felt in communities right around the country.